Principles Governing Project-Based Legislation in the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Critiques and Necessities)

The Islamic Consultative Assembly, as one of the important manifestations of citizen participation in determining their fate through legislation and oversight of its implementation, plays a crucial role. The legislative process, as the will of the citizens based on the Constitution, begins with the submission of government bills, representatives' proposals, and bills or proposals from the Supreme Council of Provinces to Parliament, encompassing stages of drafting, approval, and interpretation, culminating in execution.
Despite over a century of legislative history and the issuance of the general policies of the legislative system in 2019, Iran's legal system still suffers from a lack of a comprehensive program in the field of legislation and is caught up in day-to-day issues. Organizing the legislative system for greater efficiency, effectiveness, and better implementation of laws requires creating interaction between the Parliament and the government (as a political agent or representative) based on a genuine needs assessment of the people in the legislative domain, defining and prioritizing these needs by establishing a cross-institutional commission titled "Commission for Needs Assessment and Prioritization in Legislation." An examination of the statistics of proposals and bills from eleven terms of the Islamic Consultative Assembly indicates that the country's legislative system has shifted from bill-based legislation to project-based legislation. This analytical-descriptive research, utilizing library methods and interviews with experts, critiques the current project-based legislative approach and addresses two main issues: First, based on comparative studies, bill-based legislation should be considered the foundational principle in Iran's legislative process to ensure that laws are more aligned with the real needs of society. Second, at the beginning of the Assembly's term, conducting training courses on the philosophy of law drafting and legislation for representatives will enhance the quality of laws and lead to better legislation.